With the popularity of portable electronic devices and wireless devices that support audio applications, there is a growing need to provide a simple and complete solution for audio communications applications. For example, some users may utilize Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as headphones and/or speakers, to allow them to communicate audio data with their wireless handset while freeing to perform other activities. Other users may have portable electronic devices that may enable them to play stored audio content and/or receive audio content via broadcast communication, for example.
However, integrating multiple audio communication technologies into a single device may be costly. Combining a plurality of different communication services into a portable electronic device or a wireless device may require separate processing hardware and/or separate processing software. Moreover, coordinating the reception and/or transmission of data to and/or from the portable electronic device or a wireless device may require significant processing overhead that may impose certain operation restrictions and/or design challenges. For example, a handheld device such as a cellphone that incorporates Bluetooth and Wireless LAN may pose certain coexistence problems caused by the close proximity of the Bluetooth and WLAN transceivers.
Among the multiple audio communication technologies is the radio data system (RDS). RDS is a standard established by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for sending digital information via conventional FM radio broadcast signals. In the United States, the National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC) has approved the radio broadcast data system (RBDS) standard. The RDS and RDBS standards are substantially equivalent.
RDS may be utilized to communicate various types of data that may be displayed at an RDS-enabled FM receiver. For example, RDS data may include clock time information that may be utilized to synchronize a clock at the FM receiver. Program service information may include information that identifies a radio station that is currently being received at the FM receiver. Program service information may include the call letters of the radio station and/or station identity. Program type information may include information about the genre of the programming broadcast by the radio station, for example, music types such as classical, pop, or soft rock. Radio text information allows radio, stations to transmit free-form textual information, such as the title and/or artist of a song currently being broadcast.
RDS may also be utilized to transmit traffic information. The traffic management, channel (TMC) may be utilized to deliver traffic and travel information. Traffic and travel information may include information about alternate routes, warnings about traffic congestion, or estimates of travel times to reach destinations. RDS may also be utilized to communicate global positioning system (GPS) information to an RDS-enabled FM receiver.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.